Inquest Told of Safety Fears of Toronto Paramedics

Ambulance response times jumped significantly during the 2009 Toronto city workers' strike while paramedics refused to handle an increased number of calls because of what they called safety fears.

Corroborating statistics were presented on Monday at an inquest into the heart attack death of James Hearst, 59, of Toronto. He died after collapsing on June 25, 2009, in a downtown apartment lobby during a 35-minute wait for paramedics.

The inquest before Dr. Albert Lauwers has heard that an ambulance crew was parked for 25 minutes half a block from where Hearst collapsed, waiting for police to escort them to his building. The crew cited safety concerns for their refusal to immediately come to Hearst's aid, the inquest has heard.

The paramedics have yet to testify and the inquest hasn't yet heard the nature of their safety concerns. A trio of Good Samaritans who tried to save Hearst has testified they were not afraid for their security in the lobby of the apartment near Yonge and Alexander Sts.

Under questioning from inquest counsel Stefania Fericean, David Lyons of Toronto Emergency Medical Services, described his findings after analyzing some 27,000 ambulance calls during the strike, which ran from June 22 to July 30, 2009.

Lyons said response times for all five priority levels - low priority to life-threatening emergencies - suffered during the strike.

At the same time, reports of "staging" - ambulance crews refusing to attend a call for security reasons until accompanied by police - also jumped, Lyons told the inquest.

There were 315 stagings in June 2009, compared with 86 in June 2011, a 73 per cent drop, Lyons said.

Lyons testified the average response time for a "Bravo" call - the second highest priority - went up 1 minute, 26 seconds during the 2009 strike, then improved immediately by 1 minute, 33 seconds in the months after the strike.

The median response time to a "Bravo" call was 12 minutes, 53 seconds during the strike, Lyons said.

The inquest continues.

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